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This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II. For the unit in Age of Empires IV, see Bombard. For the technology, see Bombard Cannon (technology).

Siege weapon with long range.
Age of Empires II description

The Bombard Cannon is a long-ranged gunpowder siege unit in Age of Empires II that can be trained at the Siege Workshop in the Imperial Age once Chemistry is researched.

The unit has an upgrade, Houfnice, only available to the Bohemians.

Availability chart[]

Bombardcannonavailable Available Bombardcannonunavailable Unavailable
x means that the civilization gets Siege Engineers. Consequently, it can fully upgrade its Bombard Cannons.
+ means that the civilization gets at least one civilization or team bonus or a unique technology that benefits the combat strength of the Bombard Cannon.
means that the civilization had access to Bombard Cannons in the past, but does not currently.

Tactics[]

The Bombard Cannon is very powerful and very versatile. It outranges all generic ranged buildings, and while it is not the best anti-building siege in terms of raw damage, it still has the firepower to be effective in said role. Bombard Cannons are a powerful counter to siege units like Scorpions and Onagers, and can be effectively used against most units, provided they are far enough away to avoid any damage. They are also a great counter to Trebuchets, but should be moving while dealing with them in order not to be hit. Like Mangonels, Bombard Cannons have friendly splash damage and must be used with caution.

Their biggest downside is that they are incredibly expensive: 225 wood, 225 gold. Additionally, they are very slow and have lackluster durability, so they will quickly falter if attacked. They are also hard to mass, due to not only a high cost, but also a training time of 56 seconds. Fortunately, even in low numbers, they can be effective support for an army against buildings and siege.

Comparison to the Trebuchet[]

The Bombard Cannon and Trebuchet are the longest ranged and most expensive siege weapons in the game. The Bombard Cannon is more maneuverable than the Trebuchet, as it does not require the packing and unpacking that the Trebuchet does. However, Trebuchets are slightly cheaper, costing -25 wood, -25 gold than Bombard Cannons and are available to every civilization, unlike Bombard Cannons, which are only available to some civilizations and require Chemistry. Trebuchets are also more resilient, especially to ranged attackers, and can be used to destroy trees.

Comparing their attacks, Bombard Cannons are more accurate and deal splash damage against units, but have shorter range and can damage friendly units. They deal significantly less damage to their targets than Trebuchets, but fire faster and with much faster projectiles.

Overall, Bombard Cannons are superior to Trebuchets in terms of versatility as they are effective against both buildings and units, but the Trebuchet's greater range and attack are unrivaled when it comes to taking down enemy buildings, especially during early Imperial Age, as Chemistry takes 100 seconds to research.

Note that several civilizations have bonuses for Bombard Cannons, which makes them better for this comparison. The Italians and Portuguese get a discount for them, the Turks get better durability, range, and free Chemistry, the Burgundians get extra attack, and the Bohemians get the Houfnice upgrade.

Comparison table[]

Bombard cannon aoe2DE Bombard Cannon Onager aoe2DE Onager Trebuchet aoe2DE Trebuchet
Research cost 300 food, 200 gold
100 seconds
800 food, 500 gold
75 seconds
none
Hit Points 80 60 150
Armor 2/5 0/7 2/8 or 1/150
Blast Radius 0.5 1.25 0
Range 12 8 16
Main Role Anti-siege
Anti-building
Anti-foot unit
Clearing forests
Anti-building
Availability 24/43 civilizations (~56%) All except Huns and Turks All

Further statistics[]

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs. Buildings, units in dense formations, siege weapons
Weak vs. Units at close range (especially Condottieri), cavalry, Mangudai, Eagle Warriors, Magyar Huszars
Upgrades
Attack SiegeEngineersDE Siege Engineers (+20% attack against buildings)
UniqueTechImperialDE Torsion Engines (+0.45 tile blast damage radius, Ethiopians only)
Range SiegeEngineersDE Siege Engineers (+1)
UniqueTechImperialDE Artillery (+2, Turks only)
Accuracy UniqueTechImperialDE Arquebus (hit moving targets as with Ballistics; faster projectile, Portuguese only)
Armor UniqueTechCastle-DE Ironclad (+4/+0, Teutons only)
Speed UniqueTechCastle-DE Wagenburg Tactics (+15%, Bohemians only)
Conversion defense Devotion icon AoE2DE Devotion (+1 min, +1 max)
FaithDE Faith (+4 min, +4 max)
HeresyDE Heresy (die upon getting converted)
Upgrades Houfnice upgrade Houfnice (Bohemians only)

Civilization bonuses[]

Team bonuses[]

Changelog[]

AoE2-DLCicon-0 The Age of Kings[]

  • The Bombard Cannon technology must be researched before Bombard Cannons can be trained.
  • Bombard Cannons have 50 HP and no bonus damage against siege weapons.
  • CivIcon-Turks Turks: Bombard Cannons have +50% HP.

AoE2-DLCicon-1 The Conquerors[]

  • The Bombard Cannon technology is removed from the game, and Bombard Cannons become available as soon as Chemistry is researched.
  • Bombard Cannons have 80 HP and +20 bonus damage against siege weapons.
  • Bombard Cannons' projectiles are faster.
  • Heresy introduced.
  • CivIcon-Turks Turks: Bombard Cannons have +25% HP. Artillery introduced.
  • Bombard Cannons have 92% accuracy.

AoE2-DLCicon-2 The Forgotten[]

AoE2-DLCicon-3 The African Kingdoms[]

AoE2-DLCicon-4 Rise of the Rajas[]

  • CivIcon-Portuguese Portuguese: Arquebus has a smaller effect on gunpowder units, the speed modifier is reduced by 75%. With patch 5.3, the speed modifier for Bombard Cannons is removed. With patch 5.7, the speed modifier for Bombard Cannons is +0.2 tiles per second.

Definitive Edition []

  • Bombard Cannons have 100% accuracy (meaning blast damage is always inflicted).
  • CivIcon-Khmer Khmer: With update 36906, the Bombard Cannon is no longer available.
  • CivIcon-Portuguese Portuguese: With update 39284, Bombard Cannons cost -20% gold.
  • Portuguese: With update 42848, as a civilization bonus, technologies that benefit Bombard Cannons are researched 30% faster.

Dawn of the Dukes []

AoE2Icon-DynastiesIndia Dynasties of India[]

Heroes[]

There are two heroes in the game with the appearance of a Bombard Cannon:

Trivia[]

  • Although the Chinese invented the cannon in real life, their in-game civilization does not have access to it for balance purposes.
    • In the scenario Into China, the Mongols can capture Bombard Cannons from the Chinese Engineers, and the AI script for the Jin instructs them to build cannons despite being Chinese, implying that the civilization had access to them during development.
  • In terms of gold and wood, the Bombard Cannon is the most expensive unit in the game; the latter only since Rise of the Rajas when the Siege Tower was made cheaper.
  • Before The African Kingdoms was released, the Bombard Cannon was the only siege weapon that was created at the Siege Workshop that had no upgrade. In The African Kingdoms, the Siege Tower was added.
  • At release, all new civilizations introduced in The African Kingdoms and Rise of the Rajas had access to the Bombard Cannon. However, the Khmer lost access to the Bombard Cannon in update 36906, making them the only civilization that lost access to the Bombard Cannon.
  • Both civilizations introduced in Dawn of the Dukes have access to the Bombard Cannon.
  • Neither of the Central Asian civilizations have access to Bombard Cannon.
  • The Bombard Cannon is the only unit which is mobile, ranged anti-building unit. The mobile and ranged aspect also makes it anti-siege, a role they perform better than Onagers due to having more range. Massed Siege Onagers can also accomplish the three traits with civilizations like Celts, Mongols, Koreans, and Saracens.
  • Except Ironclad, unique technologies and most civilization bonuses either affect Battering Rams-Mangonels-Scorpions, Trebuchets, or Bombard Cannons (and other gunpowder siege weapons). Ironclad is the only unique technology which affects all siege weapons.
    • Theoretically, Bombard Cannons are affected by Drill, Furor Celtica, Slavic siege discount etc (none of which affect Trebuchets).
    • Torsion Engines affects Rams-Mangonels-Scorpions as well as Bombard Cannons, but not Trebuchets.
    • The Celt faster-firing bonus affects all types of siege weapons too, but Celts do not have Bombard Cannons. This makes it the only siege-specific civilization bonus to affect Battering Rams-Mangonels-Scorpions and Trebuchets both.

History[]

Gunpowder reached Europe from China by the thirteenth century and primitive cannons appeared first in the fourteenth century. Bombard cannons were large, ponderous, and dangerous to fire because the guns tended to break and because gunpowder was of uneven quality. They were used mainly in sieges where the time was available to set them up and fire them at a fixed target. By the fifteenth century, bombard cannons firing stone or iron shot were making castles obsolete. Cannons could bring down vertical stone walls quickly by firing shot at high velocity directly into the lower wall sections. Giant bombard cannons manned by European mercenaries were instrumental in the Turkish attack that finally captured Constantinople in 1453.
Age of Empires II manual

Gallery[]

Units in Age of Empires II
CivilianMaleVillDE Villager · Tradecart aoe2DE Trade Cart · FishingShipDE Fishing Ship · Trade cog aoe2DE Trade Cog · King eu aoe2DE King
ReligiousMonk aoe2DE Monk
InfantryMilitiaDE Militia · Manatarms aoe2DE Man-at-Arms · Longswordsman aoe2DE Long Swordsman · Twohanded aoe2DE Two-Handed Swordsman · Champion aoe2DE Champion
Spearman aoe2DE Spearman · Aoe2-infantry-2-pikeman Pikeman · Halberdier aoe2DE Halberdier
Eaglescout aoe2DE Eagle Scout · Eaglewarrior aoe2DE Eagle Warrior · EliteEaglewarrior aoe2DE Elite Eagle Warrior
ArcherArcher aoe2DE Archer · Crossbowman aoe2DE Crossbowman · Arbalester aoe2DE Arbalester
Skirmisher aoe2DE Skirmisher · Elite skirmisher aoe2DE Elite Skirmisher
Hand cannoneer aoe2DE Hand Cannoneer
Cavalryarcher aoe2DE Cavalry Archer · Heavycavalryarcher aoe2de Heavy Cavalry Archer
Aoe2de DOI elephant archer icon Elephant Archer · ElephantArcherIcon-DE Elite Elephant Archer
CavalryScoutcavalry aoe2DE Scout Cavalry · Lightcavalry aoe2DE Light Cavalry · Hussar aoe2DE Hussar
Knight aoe2DE Knight · Cavalier aoe2DE Cavalier · Paladin aoe2DE Paladin
Camelrider aoe2DE Camel Rider · Aoe2 heavycamelriderDE Heavy Camel Rider
Battle elephant aoe2DE Battle Elephant · Elite battle elephant aoe2DE Elite Battle Elephant
Steppelancericon Steppe Lancer · Elitesteppelancericon Elite Steppe Lancer
Xolotlicon Xolotl Warrior
AoE2DE Armored Elephant icon Armored Elephant · AoE2DE Siege Elephant icon Siege Elephant
SiegeBattering ram aoe2DE Battering Ram · Capped ram aoe2DE Capped Ram · Siege ram aoe2DE Siege Ram
Mangonel aoe2DE Mangonel · Onager aoe2DE Onager · Siege onager aoe2DE Siege Onager
Scorpion aoe2DE Scorpion · Heavyscorpion aoe2DE Heavy Scorpion
Bombard cannon aoe2DE Bombard Cannon
Trebuchet aoe2DE Trebuchet
Petard aoe2DE Petard
Siegetower aoe2DE Siege Tower
War shipTransportship aoe2DE Transport Ship · Galley aoe2DE Galley · War galley aoe2DE War Galley · Galleon aoe2DE Galleon
Fire galley aoe2DE Fire Galley · Fireship aoe2DE Fire Ship · Fastfireship aoe2DE Fast Fire Ship
Demoraft aoe2DE Demolition Raft · Demoship aoe2DE Demolition Ship · Heavydemoship aoe2de Heavy Demolition Ship
Cannon galleon aoe2DE Cannon Galleon · Elite cannon galleon aoe2de Elite Cannon Galleon
AoE2 Dromon Dromon
Unique
ReligiousMissionaryIcon-DE Missionary · AoE2 WarriorPriest Warrior Priest
InfantryBerserkIcon-DE Berserk · Aoe2de Chakram Chakram Thrower · CondottieroIcon-DE Condottiero · Aoe2-icon-flemish-militia Flemish Militia · GbetoIcon-DE Gbeto · Aoe2de Ghulam Ghulam · HuskarlIcon-DE Huskarl · JaguarWarriorIcon-DE Jaguar Warrior · KamayukIcon-DE Kamayuk · Karambitwarrioricon-DE Karambit Warrior · AoE2 DE Legionary new icon Legionary · Aoe2-icon--obuch Obuch · SamuraiIcon-DE Samurai · Aoe2-icon-serjeant Serjeant · Shotelwarrioricon-DE Shotel Warrior · TeutonicKnightIcon-DE Teutonic Knight · ThrowingAxemanIcon-DE Throwing Axeman · Aoe2de Urumi Urumi Swordsman · AoE2 WarriorPriest Warrior Priest · WoadRaiderIcon-DE Woad Raider
ArcherArambaiicon-DE Arambai · CamelArcherIcon-DE Camel Archer · ChukoNuIcon-DE Chu Ko Nu · AoE2 CompositeBowman Composite Bowman · ConquistadorIcon-DE Conquistador · GenitourIcon-DE Genitour · GenoeseCrossbowmanIcon-DE Genoese Crossbowman · Imperialskirmishericon-DE Imperial Skirmisher · JanissaryIcon-DE Janissary · Kipchakicon Kipchak · LongbowmanIcon-DE Longbowman · MangudaiIcon-DE Mangudai · PlumedArcherIcon-DE Plumed Archer · Aoe2de ratha ranged Ranged Ratha · Rattanarchericon-DE Rattan Archer · SlingerIcon-DE Slinger · WarWagonIcon-DE War Wagon
CavalryBallistaelephanticon-DE Ballista Elephant · BoyarIcon-DE Boyar · Aoe2de camel scout Camel Scout · CataphractIcon-DE Cataphract · Aoe2de roman unique centurion icon Centurion · Aoe2-icon-coustillier Coustillier · Flaming camel icon Flaming Camel · ImperialCamelRiderIcon-DE Imperial Camel Rider · Keshikicon Keshik · Konnikicon Konnik · Leitisicon Leitis · MagyarHuszarIcon-DE Magyar Huszar · MamelukeIcon-DE Mameluke · AoE2 Monaspa Monaspa · Aoe2de ratha melee Melee Ratha · AoE2 Savar Savar · Aoe2de shrivamsha rider Shrivamsha Rider · TarkanIcon-DE Tarkan · WarElephantIcon-DE War Elephant · Aoe2-icon-winged-hussar Winged Hussar
SiegeAoe2-icon--houfnice Houfnice · Aoe2-icon-hussite-wagon Hussite Wagon · OrganGunIcon-DE Organ Gun
War shipCaravelIcon-DE Caravel · LongboatIcon-DE Longboat · Aoe2de Thirisadai Thirisadai · TurtleShipIcon-DE Turtle Ship
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